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Chapter
2: Eavesdropping

Author's note: First of all, thanks to
Zsenya for being a ROXing beta-reader and Miss Pince for giggling in all
the right places. Honourable mention to the two pre-readers of this chapter
and all the reviewers get massive thanks. As for the dusty manuscripts;
in all proper manuscript archives, manuscripts certainly don't get dusty
or in Zsenya's own words: "they are well cared for and valuable treasures!"
Harry's just pissed off about his assignment and is experiencing negative
feelings towards the manuscripts.☺

Harry
gritted his teeth. It was typical that when Snape assigned individual
Potions essays,
he would make sure that Harry got the most difficult subject. The Development
of Slow Acting Venoms before 1500 AD. It meant that the bibliography
of the essay would consist mostly of some old,dusty manuscripts that were buried in the farthest realms of the
Restricted Section. Harry felt his brain was clogged up with the dust
from the manuscripts after he had been pouring over them for three hours.
He decided to stand up and find a nice book on Quidditch.

He walked down the aisle where the books on sports were kept and was about
to reach after Sheer Dumb Luck or Most Brilliant Move: the Finer Points
of the Plumpton Pass when he noticed a girl. She seemed to be
watching something around the corner where she was standing. The winter
sun was shining through the window so he only saw her silhouette,
but her curves
were certainly showing,even though she was wearing her school robes. His eyes
travelled down her body, he couldn’t but notice that she
had a very nice figure.
He swallowed and looked away, feeling uneasy. Then the girl turned so
the sun shone through her hair, revealing its brilliant red, golden and
scarlet shades. Harry suppressed a gasp, it was
Ginny Weasley. He had been look at his best friend’s little sister’s
... No, he couldn’t think this thought any further but his mind betrayed
him, Ginny’s curvy silhouette was stuck in his mind. He sighed very loudly,
which caused her to turn towards him and,
to Harry’s surprise, she brought her finger to her lips as to tell him
to keep quiet. Now his attention was diverted to her
lips,
which were red and full. He closed his eyes in frustration, he had to
get his mind off
Ginny. She wasn’t taking much notice of him, she was busy surveying something
else. Harry became
a bit curious and
walked passed Ginny to see what she was watching. It was something that
made him take few steps backwards.

“Hey, watch it,” she whispered as Harry bumped
into her, “I would
appreciate it ifthe Ravenclaw girls wouldn’t see me watching them.” It was
indeed few Ravenclaw girls that Ginny was watching and among them was
Cho Chang, a girl
who Harry had
had a huge crush on.

Harry felt like he wouldn’t be able to control his vocal chordsif he would replied.
He just nodded and then he heard the Ravenclaws’
conversation.

“You can’t deny it, athletic boys are generally
better looking than others. Roger Davies is the best looking Ravenclaw
and he’s the Quidditch Captain. Just look at
the Gryffindor Quidditch team, the Weasleys
are really fit,” said a blonde girl whom Harry had seen before in Cho’s
group of friends.

“I miss Oliver Wood, he is so handsome,” said a brunette who was sitting
next to Cho. There were few sighs that Harry
took as agreements to the statement about Wood.

“But then there's
the Slytherin team, I don’t find any of them very attractive,”
said a girl with short, mousy
hair.

“What about DracoMalfoy?”
asked the blonde, “he’s all right.”

“You only like him because he has money, give me a Weasley
any day,” said the mousy one.

“Then there's
Harry Potter, he’s really cute. He seemed to be into you, Cho,”
the brunette said and turned to Cho,
who had been silent
throughout the
conversation.

“Cecily!
Watch what you're saying,"
said the blonde girl, turning
towards her friend, "leave her alone!"

“Andrea, it was you who started talking about handsome, athletic boys
and you know who was just
like that,” the
brunette answered back. Cho cleared her throat
and the girls stopped quibbling.

“I don’t mind you talking
about boys, athletic and not.”
Cho said quietly. "Harry is a sweet boy, but seeing him always reminds
me of ... that day."Cho’s voice was low but clear. Harry felt cold
in the heart for he understood
what she meant.She
blamed him for Cedric's
death. He pressed
himself up against the bookshelf, he felt queasy. Ginny was regarding
him with a concerned look. Then she took his hand and pulled him with
her.

“Harry, come. We need to talk,” she said.

She dragged him along the aisles of the library and into the History of
Magic section where she obviously thought they could be uninterrupted.

“Harry,” she said in very grave voice, “you understand that Cho
doesn’t blame you for Cedric’s death.” Harry couldn’t say anything, he
just swallowed. How did she know that he was just thinking about that?

“I mean, you were there when he died so it isn’t strange she associates
you with it but I do believe she doesn’t blame you. I wouldn’t, I know
just how evil Voldemort is,” Ginny was pacing in front of him with her
arms crossed. Harry watched her and he couldn’t help but marvel at her
attitude. Where was the little girl who used to blush and run away when
she saw him? Ginny seemed have transformed into a very determined young
woman and something in Harry’s mind added, a very attractive one too.
He panicked at this thought and saw that Ginny was regarding him with
a pensive look on his face.

“It won’t do being afraid of one’s shadow when we are facing an enemy
whose wickedness is known to us both.” It was like there was some internal
fire in her eyes and Harry just nodded.

“Good,” she said and turned around to leave but he reached out to stop
her.

“Ginny, why were you listening to the Ravenclaw
girls?” He was curious.

“Oh, it'sa secret but ...
you might be able to help me if you promise not to tell anyone, not even
Ron or Hermione.” Her lips formed a playful smile.

“Ok,” he said without hesitation, “I won’t tell them.” He was a bit surprised
at his own audacity, it was seldom he kept something
from his two best friends.

“You see, I’m spying for the twins. It seems like George has got himself a secret admirer and they really want to find out who
it is. They thought it would be a good idea to get me to help them. That’s
why I was eavesdropping on the Ravenclaws.
George thinks
it’s a Gryffindor though."
Harry couldn’t
help but chuckle
- who would secretly admire George?!Ginny
was looking at him again and said, “you promise
not to tell.” With that she was gone and Harry watched her storm out of
view. He let out a loud breath,which,
he realised, he had been holding during his whole conversation with Ginny.
Watching her was like
watching something new and exciting but yet somehow eerie familiar.

~~~~

Ginny
ran all the way up to her dormitory. Her heart was beating very fast and
it wasn’t because of the running. Harry had been talking to her, she had
held
his hand ... his hand. The hand of the boy whom she
had loved for all these years. She could still sense the hand,
the skin was surprisingly smooth, considering
that he played Quidditch. None of her brothers had such smooth hands,
not even Percy.

Ginny buried her face in her pillow and felt like she would never be calm
again. Why had she asked him
to help her? She wouldn’t be able to think straight around him, she never
did. She
had often fantasised
about talking to Harry about Cedric's death and be the one to comfort
him. It wasn't something
she expected to happen. But today, she had not thought about herself,
or her nervousness, or her crush – only of him. He
had looked like he was going to be sick
and she just
had to
say something. And the twins
weren't going to be happy if they found out that she'd let Harry in on
the secrect.

There could be a problem
if he was going to help her, she might not be able to concentrate. She
wasn't sure for how long she had liked him, first
she had liked the idea of him. A small child that defeated an evil wizard.Then he
had become real and he was her brother's best friend. She remembered the
talks she used have with her mum about Harry. 'He's just a normal boy
like your brothers. He was of course raised by Muggles
so there are things about him that might be odd but I reckon that all
in all he's just a normal boy.' When her mother had said that, Ginny thought
that her mother was being silly. Harry Potter was the Boy Who Lived and
he couldn't be a normal boy.

Harry's time at the Burrow before Ginny's first year at Hogwarts had taught
her a lot about him. Her mother was right, he was just like her brothers
in his love for Quidditch, pranks and stuff like that,
but he was also quieter, more pensive. She had been quick to realise
that he didn't like attention very much. Then again, it had taken her
time to see that he was an introverted
person and still so unsure of himself that even stupid Valentines mortified
him. Now she hoped he had forgotten all about her crush and believed her
to have grown out of it. The problem was of course that she hadn’t, it
never had been a simple crush, she had been in love with Harry all along.

Ginny had been lying on her bed for hours and it was way past
dinnertime,
but she hadn’t noticed. Her mind was still racing about her meeting with
Harry. She wanted to confide in someone, not her dorm mates even though
she was on excellent terms with them. Maybe Hermione, they had had a few
intimate talks.

A gentle knock on the door interrupted Ginny’s train of thought.

“Hi, why weren’t you at dinner?” Hermione asked as she entered the dormitory.

“Oh, I just lost track of time,” said Ginny as she sat up.

“What were you doing?” Hermione sat beside Ginny.

“Just thinking,” Ginny replied and realised that this could her chance
to confide in someone. “You see, I met Harry at the library today.” Hermione
nodded. “We heard Cho Chang say that Harry would
always remind her of Cedric’s death and I just went and said something
really stupid.”

“What, that you liked him?” Hermione whispered.

“No, then I’d have thrown myself off the AstronomyTower. I told him that he shouldn’t blame himself
for Cedric’s death, no one blamed him. Then I pretty much told him that
it didn’t do to dwell on one’s pain when the Dark Lord had risen. How
could I be so stupid?” Ginny buried her face in her palms.

“Ginny, listen to me. I think that you said the
exactly right things to Harry. Maybe he’ll open his eyes now and see you
for yourself.” Hermione’s tone of voice was firm.

“I’m afraid he thinks I’m interfering in his personal life. He’s a very
private person.”

“I know he’s a very private person but he has to know there are people who care about him and understands.I want to him
realise
you aren’t just a little girl who idolizes him for his fame. Just be his
friend, talk to him.”

“Easier said then done. Do you know how it feels to have your stomach
do gymnastics whenever a certain boy
looks in your direction?” Ginny couldn’t help but notice that Hermione
blushed.

“I know what you're
talking about, Ginny,” she said with a strain in her voice. Ginny couldn’t
help but feel a bit mischievous.

“Oh, who has stolen the heart of Hermione? Is it the world famous Seeker
or is it someone else? Someone you tell off everyday?”

“Shut up. You know that Viktor and I are just very good friends and ...
and ... oh, Ginny... why do I have these stupid feelings for that stupid
brother of yours? I mean, he'sonly just
recently noticed that I’m a girl.” Hermione threw herself back on the
bed in frustration.

“Oh, you haven’t sent him a ridiculous Get-Well card yet so you don’t
have to worry. I know he likes you, he likes you a lot. He went mad once
when he thought I had stolen a letter from you and it was in his shirt
pocket. You two are so dense, when will you admit your feelings to each
other?”

“Ginny, it isn’t that simple. All he ever does
is bug me about Viktor. I can’t just say, ‘Well, there isn’t anything
going on between me and Viktor because I like you.’ Do you know how awkward
that would be? He’s my best friend. What if you’re wrong and he doesn’t
like me. Then I’ll lose him as a friend.” Hermione seemed very aggravated.

“At least he is your friend. Harry’s just my brother’s friend and someone
who saved my life. Loving him hurts.” Ginny turned
around and looked Hermione in the eye.

“It hurts too, to be in love with your best friend,” Hermione said in
a low voice.

//

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